Echo Review. Because of Shows Like This, MCU is Hitting the Bottom

The Marvel Cinematic Universe doesn't let you forget about it for a moment. Last year, fans of comic book adaptations had the opportunity to watch several productions about their favorite heroes, and the year 2024 will not differ in this respect from the past twelve months. First up is the Echo series, which tells the further fate of Maya Lopez, introduced in Hawkeye. Does production maintain the level recently achieved by the second seasons of Loki and What If...?, which de facto restored hope for the MCU to get back on track?

Unfortunately, I don't have good news for people who expected a deep and meaningful story from the Echo series. The production telling the fate of the titular character is not of a very high standard, but it is still a class better than, for example, the unfortunate She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. But let's not kid ourselves, the bar wasn't set too high in this case.

Hey, this is not that bad!

However, one cannot deny that the creators of this series tried to encourage viewers to watch the presented story. The first episode is really about introducing the character played by Alaqua Cox. So we have fragments of young Lopez's childhood, reminiscent of similar scenes from Hawkeye, and a showing of how the main character begins to cooperate with Kingpin. Truth be told, we got a great, at least in the episodes available for review, fight scene in the very first episode, featuring none other than Daredevil.

Related:Does Echo Have Powers, is She a Mutant? Closer Look at MCU Heroine

And at this very moment, we move on to the first advantage, which is undoubtedly the confirmation that Matt Murdock from the Netflix series officially belongs to the Marvel Cinematic Universe canon. For some it may not matter, but those waiting for various treats and references will certainly appreciate such an approach to the character played by Charlie Cox.

Photo source: Echo; Sydney Freeland and Catriona McKenzie; Disney+; 2024

After all, the MCU executives could have decided that the actor would actually play this character, but in a version where he comes from a different world. However, this did not happen, and Echo confirms that "The Devil of Hellâ??s Kitchen" and Kingpin belong to the MCU. And although one could have expected this, the creators deserve big applause for it anyway.

Blood seems less red here

Does this series have any other bright spots besides this? Absolutely, although they can fade in comparison to flaws. However, I will get to that later in the review. At this point, let's focus on the advantages, which definitely include the fight scenes, which are actually the brightest point of Echo. The choreography of the fights is of a high standard, and their brutality is something new in the MCU. However, if you expect the latest production released on the Disney+ platform to be as good as the previously mentioned Daredevil or Punisher in this respect, I must disappoint you.

Blood appears during fights, and you can see that the characters involved in them have been "battered", but that's all. There isn't any excessive brutality which we could experience in Marvel Netflix series. It's possible that the incoming episodes will compensate for this loss.

More intense fight scenes are not the only point that the creators wanted to borrow from Daredevil and other productions in this universe. For we are dealing with a more down-to-earth story, in which there is no room for saving the world. Thanks to this, viewers got a series that doesn't necessarily fit into the constantly evolving multiverse.

Photo source: Echo; Sydney Freeland and Catriona McKenzie; Disney+; 2024

I must praise the way of conducting the narration. Maya Lopez is a deaf heroine, and it is visible, and above all audible, at every step. A significant part of the dialogues is conducted in sign language, and the creators also did not forget about the heroine's roots, who is a descendant of the indigenous inhabitants of America.

At the very beginning, I spoiled my review a bit by writing that Echo is not one of the best MCU series available on Disney+. Unfortunately, even after listing all the advantages of this production, I still maintain this opinion. The latest representative of the Marvel Cinematic Universe suffers from a very dragging plot. The main character moves from place to place, talks to the characters she encounters, and sometimes there is a fight, but over the course of three episodes, I had the impression that it was leading nowhere.

Satisfying watch?

I can also count on one hand the moments when the events shown on the screen interested me. Instead, Echo sent me into constant fits of yawning. Maya Lopez - with all due respect to this character - is not a heroine who can attract to the screen with her charisma. This is also evidenced by the comments that can be found under the trailers for this production, in which fans wonder where this character came from in the first place, and can't believe that it was introduced in the past.

This only confirms how unnecessary the series Echo seems. I appreciate Marvel's efforts to tell a down-to-earth story, but its execution is not of a high standard and it does not provide any satisfaction from watching. After watching the episodes available for review, I have absolutely no desire to return to this production and find out how Maya Lopez eventually deals with a certain huge problem.

Photo source: Echo; Sydney Freeland and Catriona McKenzie; Disney+; 2024

However, it seems that this applies not only to Echo itself but more to the MCU as a creation that recently does not know which direction to really go. The latest productions belonging to this universe, with a few exceptions, were - to put it mildly - mediocre, and it's hard to hope that the once-triumphant MCU will return to its former glory.

Something has to change at the top ranks of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. If fans continue to receive mediocre productions, such as the just-reviewed Echo, nothing will improve in this matter. It's a pity, because the MCU doesn't deserve to be stuck in a rut.

OUR SCORE: 4,5/10

More:Where Was Echo Filmed? Marvel's Show Shooting Locations

Martin Nothing

Martin Nothing

He began his writing adventure in the now non-existent Mobilny Swiat. Then he wandered around various technology services. Although he is not a typical gamer, and has only Football Manager on his computer, he finally ended up on GRYOnline.pl. There is not a day when he wouldn't watch reviews of new smartphones, that's why he initially wrote about all kinds of technology. Over time, however, he shifted his interests more towards cinematography. An NBA fan who believes that Michael Jordan is better than LeBron James, and that basketball from the 90s was more pleasing to the eye.